A LONG PERIOD WITHOUT INNOVATIONS.
James Dodson
A whole century passed away after the Union before any attempt was made to alter the worship of the Church of Scotland. This itself is a clear proof how well the worship had been fixed and settled by the constitution. No doubt it has been argued that there never has been perfect uniformity, and therefore that all diversity is allowable. The want of uniformity alleged, however, has only been that of measure, but not of mode, for example, so many psalms or prayers—two diets, or both in one, &c. It is not even alleged that till recently any change has been success-
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fully attempted on the substance of the worship, and especially by the introduction of an instrument or a liturgy. But the question of innovations was raised after a century by the minister of St Andrew’s Church, Glasgow, viz., in the year 1807, by an attempt to introduce an organ into his church to be used in public worship—the first attempt of the kind in a Presbyterian church from the days of Knox. The magistrates of Glasgow at that time as representing the heritors, following the opinion of their then city clerk, Mr Readdie, resolved that the introduction of an organ was illegal, and acting along with the Presbytery, had it removed. It does not appear that any legal proceedings took place on the matter at this time, or that the question went any further than the Presbytery. This proves how little ground was understood to exist for the change, although there was some discussion on the subject, especially throughout the west of Scotland. The Presbytery of Edinburgh also, in receiving Mr Johnston of Roxburgh Place, and his congregation, in 1833, into the Established Church, held that an organ which he had previously introduced was inconsistent with the settled uniformity of worship. (Scott’s Fasti, &c., Part I. pp. 130, 131). The Relief Synod had previously rejected Mr Johnston for using the organ.